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Fuel gauge reading low

peterlonz

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The fuel gauge has persistently read low which means when showing empty with warning light I get to top up with about 50 litres.
Since the tank capacity is 70 litres there is clearly a 20 litre error.
What's the most economical approach (other than do nothing), I understand the fuel tank may have to come out to replace the fuel gauge?
 

losh1971

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Common fault and a new sender unit is normally the thing that needs to be replaced. Issue is aftermarket units can be quite unreliable and you should fit a gen unit, if one can be obtained.
 

NeddyBear

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Think I replaced our pump about 1 1/2 years ago and a job you only ever want to do the once. Purchased the series 2 pump and some fuel hose n connectors through Repco. While the tank was out I also replaced the charcoal canister, not necessary but I wanted to refresh that system.
 

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Dak

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You can get the dash recalibrated with the latest firmware, common prob.
 

Trevor loves holden.

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I think they hold 75L easiest thing to do is drain tank, then fill tank to half full 37.5L then remove the needle and place it in the middle while ignition is on.
 

Trevor loves holden.

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Oh but this wont fix the light issue the sender will need to be replaced, look at it this way you wont run out of fuel.
 

Dayvo

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I replaced mine on my vx many years ago and noticed the float was sitting too high. Not sure what the measurement was but when the fuel pump is sitting on a flat surface it should be xx between bottom of fuel pump and float . Mine was 20mm to high so gave a false reading.
 

RiffRaffMama

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More than once I’ve driven for more than 15 mins at 100km/h with the fuel gauge saying “0 km to empty” the whole time. Made it to the servo without missing a beat. One time the fuel gauge sat on 0 for 10 mins then slowly crept back up. By the time I got home I had 30km to empty!
I’ve owned like 10 VT-VX Commodores/Berlinas/Calais and most of them have had a dodgy fuel gauge. You just get to know the car and take the display reading with a grain of salt.
 

Trevor loves holden.

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More than once I’ve driven for more than 15 mins at 100km/h with the fuel gauge saying “0 km to empty” the whole time. Made it to the servo without missing a beat. One time the fuel gauge sat on 0 for 10 mins then slowly crept back up. By the time I got home I had 30km to empty!
I’ve owned like 10 VT-VX Commodores/Berlinas/Calais and most of them have had a dodgy fuel gauge. You just get to know the car and take the display reading with a grain of salt.
Most have a 10L in reserve when empty, probably creeps up as the pump dries out, also a good way to fark your pump letting it run low.
 

Immortality

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Most have a 10L in reserve when empty, probably creeps up as the pump dries out, also a good way to fark your pump letting it run low.

I don't think that's how it works. The owners manual says 75 litres but in reality there are a couple of litres of fuel in the bottom that basically unusable so we'll say 70 litres of usable fuel. The fuel level reading wrong is a common fault and has to do with corrosion as I understand it. Our VXII has the same issue and takes about 58-60litres when driven to what the trip comp and fuel gauge shows as dead empty.

Tassi from Envyous Customs (forum sponsor) has created an app that allows you to update the dash and this much improves the fuel gauge reading and trip computer function. I'm going to do this once I fit my new diff so I can also correct the diff ratio issue at the same time :)

Holden changes the fuel sender to read opposite for the VY model to fix the issue. If you run the pump dry than yes you will **** it but the engine will conk out so it would seem pointless to keep trying to crank the engine and run the fuel pump at that stage. Once the engine shuts down so does the fuel pump a few seconds later so there should be no fuel pump damage even if you leave the key on.
 
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